While there are tires that are not completely black, such tires are found with colored sidewalls and/or appliques, there are no known tires that are manufactured with a single solidly dispersed color in them that is not black. Nowadays black tires in use on essentially all vehicles are of one single color, namely black. Appliques and sidewalls are in contrast to the black material of the tire and as such really only amount to a colored coating on the outer wall surface of the tire. The invention described herein includes dyes or pigments used directly in the tire composition and dispersed throughout the tire.
It is thought that the use of tires that are colored with a color other than black will lead to advantages not yet seen in the field of vehicle tires. For instance, such tires would be better able to show signs of wear because such signs of wear will become more easily evident in a tire that is of a color lighter than black. Damage marks that develop over the life of a tire will frequently show signs of the type of damage that was done to the tire during the wearing out of the tire. Such scuffs and other damage will show up much more clearly when the background color of the tire is other than black.
In such cases, dirt and oils from the road will be picked up by the damage in the tire and will contrast starkly with the color of the non black tire. By tracking such damage, a mechanic may be better able to determine what maintenance steps are needed for that tire. In addition, the need for and the proper direction of tire rotations can be better determined by the mechanic or other maintenance person who can see signs of tire wear by inspecting the wear patterns on the colored tire.
Moreover, tire wear that shows up clearly can be used to spot punctures that have occurred and may be used to spot potential trouble areas such as a tire bulge or cracking that might soon prove to be dangerous or, for example, a weak spot that is developing in the tire. The use of a non black color, for example red, that is dispersed entirely throughout the tire composition will thus produce fresh red scuffs or streaks or similar signs of damages and wear. This is in contrast to the oily black color that may develop over the worn flat portions of the tread that are constantly in contact with the oily surface of the roads. Such fresh marks of a non black color would underscore newly developed cracks or other disturbance of the tires and would be more easily seen as they are of a lighter-than-black color.
Aside from tire maintenance, other types of vehicle maintenance may also be indicated by studying the wear patterns on non black tires. For instance, a tire having too much wear on the inside of the tire may mean that the tires and wheels need to be balanced or that the wheels are out of alignment.
It is also believed that using tires that are of a solid non black color will provide a greater degree of safety for both pedestrians and passengers/drivers of vehicles. Such tires will highlight the appearance of a vehicle at night as well as provide a better visual picture of the vehicle during the day. Such colored tires may include coloring agents and other compositions that provide reflectance and will produce a greater reflectance than the standard black tires that are currently in use on vehicles. Such compositions may include reflective material in the dye or pigment and/or the use of reflective materials in the tire in addition to the dye or pigment.
Such colored tires could be operating in connection with the small amount of light that is present from street lights and the other sources of light during the night so that a lighter than black color of the tire surface will provide a visual warning at night that can seen by motorists, pedestrians and/or animals. Such visual appearance may be enhanced by the use of reflective materials in the pigments and/or other coloring agents used in the tire composition.
In addition, the aesthetic beauty of a tire may enhance the visual appearance of the vehicle upon which it is used. It is thought possible that such colored tires will provide such a striking appearance for the vehicle that such tires may be used at trade shows or other automotive displays where the color of the tires will draw attention first to the tires and then to the vehicle itself.
It is believed that there are benefits to making tires of a composition that is of color other than black and such benefits and advantages that would accrue will be recognized by those skilled in the art, once the invention is shown and described.